


The Becoming of Will Graham

by TheRaddestPanda



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Domestic Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Fix-It, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 05:49:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14182215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRaddestPanda/pseuds/TheRaddestPanda
Summary: Hannibal and Will embrace and plunge into the icy Atlantic. With confessions of love on the table and the FBI behind them, the murder husbands set off towards a fresh start in some ways, while getting in touch with their roots in others.





	1. The Fall

"This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us." Hannibal's voice was soft, reasoning, as it always was. Will slowly pulled the other close to him in a bloody embrace, unable to tell who's blood was where anymore as he wiped all thoughts of Dolarhyde, the Great Red Dragon, laying dead and defeated on the ground behind them.  
"It's beautiful," Will answered, pressing his face into the crook of Hannibal's neck, gripping his shoulder tightly. There was no way out, he now knew the answer to Bedelia's question. Of course he did, he hungered for Hannibal Lecter in a way that could be sated at the very sight of him, there was no denying it now. One small move of his foot and the both of them were falling over the edge of the cliff towards the water, clinging tightly to one another.  
It's a common thought that when one is about to die their life flashes before their eyes. As Will was discovering now, that was only half true. It didn't start with his childhood, it started with Hannibal. The two of them, sitting in Jack Crawford's office. Every moment Will had shared with Hannibal passed through his mind and the seconds it took for them to fall down, down, down into the Atlantic seemed like years instead. Abigail, Hannibal's office, Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Florence. It all flooded his mind like some sort of sick swan song, marred by blood, gore, passion, and betrayal.  
Right before the end, both Hannibal and Will took a simultaneous deep breath, their chests pressed closer than Will originally thought possible. Then the water hit, it was icy for a moment, and then nothing. Numbness and those visions were the only things Will had in the water. The sweet embrace of death certainly wasn't what he'd expected it to be, was this really it? A purgatory of Hannibal running through his mind like a reel of film? He opened his eyes and saw nothing but red clouds, feeling a slight tugging on his sides, but he couldn't quite make it out. He felt suspended, so maybe they were his wings, perhaps there was more to death after all.  
Hannibal broke the surface and gasped for air, grabbing Will's sides and dragging him through the water on his back to the nearest shore. They made it, Will was more clever than the doctor had originally given him credit for, of course he was. His Will was always full of surprises. All the FBI would see would be the double set of bloody footprints on the edge, it was foolproof. He got Will to shore and gently patted his cheek to wake him from his stupor.  
The pressure on Will's chest tightened and he felt needles in his cheek, a muffled noise finally making it to his ears. Not everything was red anymore, though there was still a lot of that too, but now there was black, and gray, and some shadowy movement.  
"I've got you, come back to me," It was a familiar voice that Will felt like he needed to answer to, blinking and only able to get out a cough at first. Slowly but surely, he realized his head was in Hannibal's lap and he was looking up at him.  
"I'm-" he coughed, "not dead?" His head was pounding, his face was burning, and so was his shoulder, those were his anchors to life currently.  
"You're not. Not physically, at least. To everyone else you will be," Hannibal explained. "We won't exist anymore."  
Will let that idea sink in and gave a small nod, giving Hannibal an amused smile and reaching up to gently touch his face.  
"Good, I was tired of existing anyway," he brought his hand back down and laid it at his side. "We need to get out of the country, and no, we can't go back to Italy."  
"I wasn't going to suggest Italy, I've had my run there." Hannibal let his arm rest along Will's beside him. "I was thinking my family's castle, in Lithuania. Chiyoh will have gone back there, she will cover for us."  
Will gave another slight nod and closed his eyes for a moment. "Until then, we'll need shelter for the night. The salt water will jump start healing our wounds, we'll need to hide out in the day and move quickly at night."  
"I know, Will. I've been at this a long time," Hannibal got to his feet and helped Will do the same. "There's a little cave-like crevice at the wall of the cliff, we'll stay there tonight and try to stay very still to lose as little blood as possible," he reached down and brushed his fingers against Will's own, only taking his hand when Will's fingers flexed in invitation.  
Once they started walking, Will looked over to Hannibal a moment, not stuttering in his steps.  
"So, really, this is all you ever wanted for us? Sharing a kill, the adrenaline, the satisfaction, the high?"  
"Yes. Maybe with less injuries to you and I, but yes. I love you, I am in love with you, and I wanted to have this with you. This is how we were meant to be, this is our design."  
"That's my line," Will coughed a little through one of his manic grins as they neared their overnight home.  
"I know, but it fits so well, don't you think?"  
Will only nodded, lowering himself to the ground and leaning against Hannibal when he did the same, the warmth of his body more of a comfort than he ever could have wished for in that moment. The reality of the situation had no beauty in it at all, they'd killed someone, nearly died themselves, and they were sleeping on the ground tonight, all of their connections thinking them dead. Will found something poetic in it, nonetheless, and he knew Hannibal did as well.


	2. Runaways

It was cold, and Will's shivering woke Hannibal some time between the setting of the moon and the rising of the sun. The doctor pulled off his own sweater which was covered in their blood and disturbed his clotted bullet holes, but was warmer than nothing, and laid it over Will. His lips tugged into a slight smile as the other gently curled into it and stopped shivering.  
About an hour after he'd had the sweater put on him, Will's eyes blinked open and he sat up quickly, groaning as he agitated his wounds. It was all real, not just some horrible, fantastical dream he'd conjured up in his disarrayed brain.  
"Give me your clothes." Will heard a voice behind him and turned quickly, seeing Hannibal there, not very clearly though because his glasses and contacts were long gone.  
"My clothes?" He asked groggily. "Why?"  
"We need to wash them, it's one thing to walk around wearing ripped clothes, it's entirely another to walk around with bloody ones." Hannibal explained, already stripping out of what was left of his outfit and taking it to the shore.  
Will pushed himself up from the sandy, rocky ground and followed Hannibal, removing one article of clothing with each couple of steps and handing Hannibal his sweater back. If he were not in a life or death situation, Will might've been embarrassed to be completely naked and in the open, but he had at least ten other things to worry about at the moment. He started washing the blood, dirt, sand, and ocean debris out of his clothing, using his shirt as a washrag for the rest of himself before rinsing it off again. He watched as Hannibal did the same, unable to place the wendigo figure over his face anymore, just seeing Hannibal as he was. Kill him or become him, those had been his options, and it seemed as though the latter was the path he'd chosen. His thoughts were interrupted when Hannibal spoke to him again  
"It's only a matter of time before they start looking for bodies and we're the face of national security's most wanted. We need to leave today. We'll get some new clothes, I'll have us some new passports manufactured, and we'll get on a plane. We don't have time for you to build a boat this time," Hannibal gave a light chuckle and wrung out his clothes.  
It used to bother Will when Hannibal referred to them collectively, but not anymore. So much had changed between them it made Will's head spin to think about. He couldn't even deny anything, he'd participated this time, and it was like participating every time since he'd laid eyes on Hannibal in Jack's office the first time years ago. He didn't question any of Hannibal's plan, only nodded in agreement and laid his clothes out to dry on a nearby rock, curling up, but being able to bear the weather now that the sun had come out. He had to trust Hannibal, and he did, but he would've been out of luck at this point if he didn't.  
"I miss my dogs," he said quietly, chewing on his lower lip a moment, tapping his thumb on his arm.  
"I'll find a way to get your dogs to us," Hannibal answered, taking a seat beside Will and resting a hand on his uninjured cheek. "It might be a few months, but I will." He nodded.  
"Really?"  
"Really."  
Will allowed himself to smile just a bit and rested his head on Hannibal's shoulder, intended to be a mildly affectionate gesture. Imagining a life with just Hannibal, his dogs, and whoever they befriended in Lithuania was a funny thought to Will and he would've detested the very idea not too long ago. Now, it was a goal of his that he was actually looking forward to, another indicator to Will that he would never be the same person he once was, but perhaps this was who he was meant to be all along. He knew in Hannibal's opinion it would be.  
Once their clothes were dry, the two of them got dressed and Hannibal quickly grabbed Will's wrist and started leading him away from their current location, but also away from the cave they'd slept in.  
"Where are we going?" Will asked quickly, his breathing already slightly strained as he kept up best he could.  
"To catch a ride." Hannibal answered (cryptically, it seemed to Will). The empath followed anyway and didn't know what Hannibal was talking about until they reached a seemingly deserted road.  
"Hannibal..."  
"Do you want to escape or not?" Hannibal raised a brow at Will and gave a nod when the other let out a sigh in submission. "Good. You take the back seat and distract the driver. I'll handle the rest."  
Will nodded in response. They seemed normal. Of course they did. Maybe a little bruised, roughed up from the scabbing, but nothing like they had seemed the night before. The passerby that would pick them up and would do so out of pity, since they didn't seem menacing, and Hannibal would kill them. It was easy enough to figure out what he'd meant by handling the rest. He prepared his best normal act as a car drove towards them down the road and slowed to a stop.  
"Looking for a ride?" Behind the steering wheel was a man no younger than thirty with a mustache that reminded Will of Tom Selleck.  
Before Will could say anything, Hannibal beat him to it.  
"As a matter of fact, we are. Any chance you're heading in the direction of the airport?"  
"I can bring you pretty close to there. Are you both all right?" Both Hannibal and Will nodded.  
"Get in, I'll take you." The man decided, and they did, Will letting out a deep breath before he got in the back of the car and Hannibal went around to the passenger side.


	3. Wiping The Slate

Love stories are tricky, everyone knows that. The problem with truly understanding the dynamic of a love story is that there isn't just one. There are infinite ways two people can fall in love and be in love, and Will had been learning this every passing second since he and Hannibal had shared their first moments. Their story had been set up to be a tragedy, everything falling into pieces around the two of them until they reached their inevitable end. The cliff. As the universe would have it, the cliff was only the end to the first volume of their story. The next one started with this, Will feeling relief when Hannibal reached over and snapped the neck of the innocent driver that had picked them up on the side of the road.  
Hannibal reached over and pulled the handle for the driver's side door, pushing the limp body out on to the pavement and climbing out to drag it into some nearby trees as Will moved up to sit in the passenger's seat.  
"It feels like such a shame to just waste him like that, but I doubt the airport security would miss our carrion carry-on in the routine checks," Hannibal mused, smiling a bit at Will as he got back in the car and started it up, driving them to the airport.  
The convenient part about being thought dead by the FBI but not quite processed as being dead in any sort of records was that Hannibal and Will were able to book a flight undisturbed after Hannibal had picked up a pre-made travel pack from a hidden location that Will had never known about before. It was complete with IDs, passports, and credit cards so they didn't have any delays. Will thought about how Hannibal had this kit with three sets of materials. The last was supposed to be Abigail's, when they were all supposed to run away together. The idea saddened him, but he quickly pushed the thoughts away even though he could see Hannibal wasting an extra few seconds to examine the third set. This was their new start, they couldn't afford to be caught up on the past.  
The flight was about 13 hours with two stops for switching planes, one in Toronto and one in Copenhagen, before they finally reached Palanga on the coast of Lithuania. Both Hannibal and Will took most of the time to get as much rest as they could, Hannibal explaining to Will that they would have a lot to do once they got there. New clothes and shoes, new cell phones, and a whole lot of regular house-shopping was in store for the duo before they would be able to begin their new life as Lithuanians. As well as a new pair of glasses and some contacts for Will.  
The first thing Hannibal and Will did when they arrived in Lithuania was take a taxi, or taksi as all of the similar-looking vehicles with black and yellow checkering on the sides read, to the nearest shopping outlet. Will could only pick out words here and there that he recognized so he was thankful that Hannibal was a native and fluent in Lithuanian and therefore able to lead Will around the shops, grabbing what they needed. Will was learning that Hannibal had a massive amount of money saved up for this precise reason and he had to admit he was impressed with how well everything had gone. Hannibal's articulate planning had quite literally made it possible for them to live, to start their lives over in a sense.  
Clothes and groceries were one thing, but Will had not expected their next stop to be the car dealership. He supposed he really should've guessed that, being the people they were and doing the things that they did, they couldn't take the taksis everywhere. The thing was that they had to go all the way to Vilnius still, but at least it was on the way.  
Hannibal was more than eager to get home. He smooth talked his way into a car fairly quickly, something that had plenty of room. He thought about how he was going to need to teach Will Lithuanian if they were going to be living there, and about how he would be able to help Will learn where everything was nearby them. They would have to go to browse the market or fishing in the river for food for the next few days, but after that Hannibal knew that he would be ready enough to take Will hunting, and they could kill together as he'd fantasied for so long and as they'd done with the dragon just one day before. Once they'd packed up their new vehicle, Hannibal opened the passenger door for Will and went around to the other, both of them climbing in. He passed a glance to Will and smiled just a bit.  
"I think we will be very happy here," Hannibal mentioned.  
"Hopefully," Will replied, his voice soft. "This is all going to be very new to me. I'm moving forward into the unknown, you're going back to your roots."  
"In some ways I'm moving forward just as much as you. We'll move forward together, I'm more than happy to help you adjust."  
Will sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head back against the seat of the car, thinking about all the new things he was going to need to learn. All of it was better than playing Janus between Jack and Hannibal, knowing what he wanted but not being able to act on it, Hannibal's absence tainting every piece of his life. They belonged together, like this, he knew it, he felt soothed by the idea.  
In about half an hour they arrived at the massive gates of Lecter Castle, nestled into the woods outside of Rukainiai. Hannibal got out and pushed them open so he could drive through them and up the overgrown driveway. Will looked around and reminisced on the imaginary conversation he'd had with Hannibal in the woods here.  
"I'm going to make some calls tomorrow to get this place restored. Mostly landscaping, we'll see if any repairs are needed when we get inside," Hannibal said once they were parked in front of the massive building. He'd honestly forgotten how large it was, it had been a long time. "It'll do in the meantime. I never got the utilities cut off, so really the only improvements needed will be aesthetic ones."  
Will didn't do much more than nod at Hannibal's words, helping him move everything from the car to inside. He wasn't surprised that Hannibal had multiple safe houses up and running at all times, one of them being his childhood home, but he still felt like all of the circumstances surrounding them were so surreal, like they'd actually died in the ocean but they didn't quite know they were dead yet. He figured if that were the case he certainly wouldn't feel the most alive he'd ever felt, but then again he didn't really know much about being dead, either. He only snapped out of his temporary existential crisis when he heard Hannibal say something to him.  
"I'm sorry, what?" the empath inquired.  
"I said you seem a little lost," Hannibal replied, wrapping an arm around Will's shoulders and leading him to the living room. He pulled the plastic cover off of the couch and helped Will sit down on it. "It's been a long day, Will. Just take some time, I'll get everything set up. How does a glass of wine sound?"  
"That would be...nice. Thank you," Will curled up on the couch and watched as Hannibal left for the kitchen once more. He took the wine when it was handed to him and sipped it carefully.  
Hannibal got everything put away and started a fire in the fireplace before he joined Will on the couch with his own wine. They had a long way to go, but Hannibal thought of this as a nice start to their second journey together. Everything was out in the open now.  
"Do you think you'll start a practice back up here?" Will asked.  
"I think it's a possibility. There's plenty of space here, I'd be able to set up an office fairly easily," Hannibal replied, looking around and taking a sip of his wine. "I'd even be able to cut it off from the rest of the house."  
House, Will scoffed a little at the word. It was much too small, domestic, and homey for this place. Though Hannibal seemed to have plans for it, maybe Will would be able to see it as a house one day, too. He wanted for those days to come sooner if they were coming at all. He wondered how this was going to work, with his and Hannibal's differing tastes and styles, but they had more immediate things to take care of at the moment.  
"I can see you're worrying, Will, things are going to be fine. I will take care of it, of everything," Hannibal assured, brushing a hand over Will's cheek. "And yes, it will take time, but we will feel natural in no time at all, I'm sure of it," he added with a soft hum before letting his hand fall back to his side.  
"I'm sure we will, I trust you," Will gave a slight nod. Rather than being put off by Hannibal's touch, it calmed him a bit. Hannibal had always been more physical in his affections and it was something Will had grown accustomed to, even if they'd been separated for a few years he fell right back into it.  
The idea of Will trusting him made something light up in Hannibal and he wanted to do everything he could possibly do to maintain that trust. He and Will were one in the same, he'd known that for a long time, but trust in one another had to be earned and maintained. He finished his wine and stood, turning to face Will.  
"We need to make a trip to the market. I need ingredients. I want to make you an authentic Lithuanian dinner to welcome you to the country," he offered with a smug smile, offering his hand.  
"Alright," Will took the hand that was offered to him and stood as well, he and Hannibal cleaning their glasses in the sink before heading out.  
The market was a large, active space with everything you could possibly need in terms of cooking. Various meats, vegetables, and fresh fruits garnished the stands. Hannibal wasn't settling for anything less than perfect in terms of food, especially their first night in, so he led Will around until he had a basket filled with every ingredient he needed for tonight's meal.  
Will watched on, lost, as Hannibal conversed with the locals about food, at least he thought they were talking about food. He was just relieved when they went back to the castle. Hannibal had Will help him cook, giving him specific instructions on what to do as he worked on other parts of the meal. When they were done, Hannibal sent Will to set the table as he made them both plates. He emerged and set Will's food down in front of him and sat down with his own in the seat adjacent at the small 4-person table that he used to eat at with his family.  
"Didžkukuliai or, more commonly, Cepelinai. A traditional Lithuanian dish. Potato dumplings with pork, beef, veal and egg, topped with bacon and sour cream gravy. The second name of them was earned by the potato dumplings' zeppelin-like shape. On top of all that: delicious," Hannibal explained as he set the plates down and poured a black currant wine for both of them. Being in his niche gave Hannibal a sense of comfort about his and Will's new home.  
"It looks great, but you never make anything sub-par so it feels almost redundant to say that," Will replied, loosening up from his first glass of wine and ready to start on his second. It helped with the nerves. Given everything that had happened, Will felt the most normal in that moment, sitting at a dinner table with Hannibal next to him.   
They sat and ate their dinner happily and quietly, each passing a small glance to the other occasionally without either noticing, the looming question of "what's next for us?" hanging in the air like the blade of an invisible guillotine ready to decapitate them at any moment. It was only when Will was setting the dishes in the sink and felt arms slide around him paired with soft breathing on his neck that he knew the answer. His eyes fluttered closed and he focused on the sensations: Hannibal's fingers pressing into the fabric of his shirt, the tip of Hannibal's nose exploring just under his hairline behind his ear, the way Hannibal's chest felt against his shoulder blades. It was an intimate gesture, and from the outside it might've looked sexual, but Will new the difference. Hannibal was being affectionate, coaxing, and chaste.  
"My dear Will, I think it's about time for bed, wouldn't you agree?" Hannibal asked, his voice a low hum in Will's ear that the empath knew sped his heart rate up just a little.  
"Today has been...eventful, so yes, I can agree," Will gave a slight nod and moved his own hand down to take Hannibal's, going the extra step to experimentally lace their fingers.  
"Would you prefer sleeping in the guest room to sleeping with me?"  
"I feel the guest room might get a little big and lonely, being in a strange, new place. If it's all the same to you."  
Hannibal gave a nod and led Will to the master bedroom where they took turns getting their showers in the adjacent bathroom and changing into their new night clothes. Will climbed into the bed first once the plastic from the top of it was discarded, then he relaxed as he felt Hannibal move in beside him and wrap an arm around his waist. He laid his own arm carefully over Hannibal's and they fell asleep.


	4. Aching

The darkness was loud. It wasn't calm, or quiet, or friendly. It was angry, it burned Will's lungs and eyes and numbed his fingers as he was pulled helplessly through it, any attempt at fighting back becoming instantly futile. He was drowning again, only this time his savior's hands weren't grasping at his sides and pulling him to safety. At least, they weren't at first. Not until he felt warm hands on his face that gave him the grip he needed on consciousness to see that it wasn't dark after all, that the sun was peeking through the dense curtains, if only a little. It was only then that he remembered how to breathe.  
Hannibal was pleasantly surprised that he'd gotten any sleep at all between the stress of his and Will's recent days and the excitement of sharing a bed with the person he loved the most rather than a rocky seaside floor. It was therapeutic to rest with his face tucked close against Will's back, taking in the man's natural scent. That was until Will's breath quickened and his body started to tremble, making Hannibal worry immediately that he was having a seizure. He placed his hands on Will's face, one on his forehead and the other cupping his jaw, and sighed a breath of relief when Will relaxed and opened his eyes.  
"You're alright, Will," he murmured in that soft and reassuring whisper that made Will believe every word he said. "It was just a bad dream."  
Will gave a nod and turned towards Hannibal's palm to hide his face against it and sigh deeply. He knew that sharing a bed was something he would have to adjust to, but that didn't make him feel any less embarrassed.  
"I didn't mean to wake you up, but then again, I never mean to wake myself up with these things either," he laughed dryly, moving his own hand up to rest over Hannibal's that was cupping his jaw. He ran his thumb over the back of Hannibal's hand, feeling the tendons in it flex slightly at the contact.  
"You do not need to worry about me in regards to something over which you have no control. I only wish that I had been up earlier to have breakfast and coffee prepared for us, however I wouldn't have been here for you, so I suppose it worked out in the end," Hannibal offered Will a smile before reluctantly slipping away from him to get out of bed.  
Will sat up with a small huff as his muscles strained due to his mending injuries. He wish he knew how Hannibal managed to look so effortless moving around, he was the one that had been shot after all. He reached his hand out and loosely grabbed Hannibal's wrist.  
"Wait," he suggested, moving to sit up on his knees with his free hand pressed against the bed to steady himself. Hannibal turned to face him, a question in his expression. "Hannibal, I just wanted to," Will paused and pulled the other a little closer by the collar of his night shirt. His eyes locked with Hannibal's and he read everything Hannibal was thinking and feeling as they breathed the same air. It was once he knew it was what they both wanted, needed even, that he closed the gap and pressed his lips to Hannibal's with some eagerness and yet more natural ease than any kiss he'd experienced in the past.  
The suspense in that final moment before Will's lips touched his was excruciating to Hannibal, especially since he knew Will could pinpoint exactly how he was feeling at that point in time. It was all worthwhile when the breath they'd been sharing was sealed behind the seams they created with their kiss. Will smelled like the sweat his nightmare had spurred and tasted of morning breath but Hannibal couldn't bring himself to care, cherishing the gift he'd been given and trying his best not to take too much.  
Hesitance was close to the last thing Will expected from Hannibal in this situation, but he found it both amusing and considerate that Hannibal was being cautious. The empath moved a hand up into Hannibal's hair that was still disheveled from sleep and closed his fingers around a reasonable amount of it, pulling a soft gasp out of the older man and feeling him cave just a bit at the sensation. Using the bit of leverage he had gained, Will pulled Hannibal's head back easily with no resistance and leaned in to place his lips against Hannibal's protruding Adam's apple. He felt it move when Hannibal gulped and Will let his teeth graze gently against the skin there. It was an interesting change of pace to have Hannibal exactly where he wanted him and Will was definitely taking advantage.  
But do you ache for him?  
Bedelia's words rang clear through Will's mind and his answer had never been more definite.  
Of course. More than I have ached for anyone or anything.  
Hannibal did not consider himself an easily stimulated man in any regard other than those situations involving one Will Graham. It was especially difficult to maintain his composure when Will was behaving in such a manner that left Hannibal guessing what his next move would be, but Hannibal couldn't say it was a scene he opposed being a part of. Only when Will's lips left him and didn't return after a moment did Hannibal tip his head back down and see Will wearing a smirk with his lower lip caught between his teeth. If looks could kill, Will would have blood on his hands. Hannibal stayed silent for a moment before he formed a puzzled look. A look that turned to one of almost agony when the realization hit him that Will intended to leave him like this. Skin flushed, mouth agape, and longing in his eyes.  
"Now you can make breakfast," Will mentioned, sliding his hand down from Hannibal's hair to brush a thumb over the other's lip momentarily before retracting himself entirely from Hannibal's personal space. He would make Hannibal wait, at least, he would tease him for a while. In all honesty, Will was testing his own patience by cutting Hannibal off, but he had a feeling the end result would be worthwhile.  
After Hannibal regained a firm grip on the situation and processed that Will wasn't going a step further, he nodded and flashed a small smile. This game Will was playing only made Hannibal more determined, but he would leave it be for now. The bed shifted with the loss of his weight and Hannibal grabbed a robe from the inside of his wardrobe, pulling it on over his pajamas and headed to the kitchen. Memories from his early childhood nagged at his mind with each step, but he was determined to make new memories here with Will.  
Once Hannibal left the room, Will let out a deep sigh and allowed some of the tension to leave him. He eased himself off of the bed and walked over to the adjacent bathroom, spending time undressing himself and then his wounds, checking their progress in the body-length mirror attached to the back of the door. Nothing appeared infected and Will could see some progress as the openings had started to turn to scars. He had really lucked out that Hannibal knew so much about taking care of their injuries. When he was done assessing the damage, Will popped open the medicine cabinet above the sink and took a dose of painkillers with a handful of tap water and set the temperature of the shower to lukewarm so he wouldn't irritate anything. A soft hiss escaped him as he stepped under the stream coming from the shower's head but he was able to relax relatively easily. The shower started innocent enough until Hannibal weaseled his way back into Will's thoughts as he always did. Behind closed eyes Will saw Hannibal completely malleable for him and it set off a warm shiver through his body. Upon further analysis he started to realize just how much Hannibal would do for him, what Hannibal would let Will do to him, and he let his mind explore exactly what those things might be. He was able to assume Hannibal's perspective as well as his own and that added an entire layer of delicious desire to his fantasy. Hannibal's lips just felt so good on places other than his own, so much in fact that Will found himself coming back to reality in the shower. He had managed to get his knuckles between his teeth, panting softly around his hand as his other one was busy stroking his cock. Will stilled his hand and started to rock his hips instead, steadily thrusting into it as he let his eyes slip shut again and he fell back into his thoughts. One particular thought of Hannibal on his back, making those noises Will had pulled out of him was enough to push Will over and with a few soft and needy grunts he got his release. It didn't take long after that for Will to finish cleaning himself up, but that wasn't the difficult part. His wounds required multiple steps of care before they were protected enough for him to get dressed and head to the kitchen where Hannibal had managed to make a whole breakfast. He knew Hannibal would be able to read him with no trouble at all, but that was all part of the fun, wasn't it?  
Breakfast was set out on the dining room table and the dishes Hannibal had used were cleaned and put back in their proper place before Hannibal noticed Will was taking quite some time in the shower. He had started on his way back up to see if Will needed assistance dressing his wounds when he met Will at the end of the hallway. The flush in Will's cheeks and the slack in his demeanor was enough to give him away to Hannibal and the doctor just smiled and brushed Will's damp hair away from his forehead to plant a kiss there.  
"I am happy you could join me, Will. I was just coming to see if you needed any help, but it appears you have taken well enough care of yourself," he mentioned.  
"I can handle myself most of the time, you know," Will replied, playing along with Hannibal's innuendo and stringing him on just a bit more. "I'll let you know if I need any help in the future," he murmured before slipping away from Hannibal and taking his place at the table. "So, tell me what we have here, Dr. Lecter."  
Hannibal found it almost cruel how quickly Will had managed to distance himself but he also knew the act was translucent at best and transparent at worst.  
"Manų Košė topped with mėlynės and cinnamon sugar," he commented, setting a cup of coffee in front of Will before taking his own seat next to him at the table.  
Will glanced up, making brief eye contact with Hannibal before averting his gaze and focusing on his coffee and food. He took a bite and let out a small and pleased hum of satisfaction.  
"It's delicious. Every time I think you've run out of things to surprise me, I'm wrong," he noted, offering Hannibal a small smile and noticing he enjoyed the validation no matter how good he knew his cooking was. That was something he would have to play around with in the future, seeing how he responded to compliments in other situations.  
"I'm glad you enjoy it, Will," Hannibal responded with a fond smile of his own. Being back in this place with the food he grew up with was still quite a bit for Hannibal to process. He had many memories that would hopefully start to balance out, but he knew the place needed some physical changes before any emotional ones could take place. "I was hoping you would accompany me again to go retrieve some supplies that will aid in our reconstruction of this place."  
"What? Like a home improvement store?" Will asked, internally conjuring the idea of tarps on the floors and Hannibal with a paint roller in his hand. It was amusing but also charming. Domestic.  
"Yes, precisely. Some of the decor around here is outdated to say the least. There is a fine line between vintage and obsolete."  
"And I would expect you to know exactly where that line is drawn."  
Hannibal shrugged and gave a nod of concession.  
"Finish your breakfast and we'll get ready to go," Hannibal proposed, earning a responding nod from Will before following his own advice.


End file.
